Paper-roll holder and cutter.



PATENTED JAN. 22, 1907.

J. P. FINAN.v PAPER ROLL HOLDER AND GUTTBR.

, No. 842,090V

' APPLICATION FILED APR.4. 1906.

ATTORNEYS,

JOHN F. FINAN, OF CUMBERLAND, MARYLAND.

PAPER-ROLL HOLDER AND CUTTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 22, 1907.

Application filed April 4, 1906. Serial No. 309,824.

T0 at whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN F. FINAN, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of Cumberland, in the county of Allegany and State of Maryland,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Paper-Roll Holdersand Cutters, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is in the nature of an improvement upon that form of paperroll holder and cutter in which the sheet of paper passes from the rollthrough a thin slit or throat in an adjustable bar which is forcedinwardly over the paper by the same hand that grasps the paper, andwhich also has a cutting edge for establishing a straight line intearing off a section of paper. Examples of this type of roll-holder andcutter are seen in my previous patents, Nos. 802,927 and 814,598.

My present invention consists in an improvement upon this generalconstruction of roll-holder and cutter, in which the cutterbargravitates to its outermost position by reason of downwardly-inclinedguides, and in which a simple and better construction is obtained, andone in which the cutter-devices may be applied to any form ofrollholderalready in use, or as a wall-bracket, as hereinafter morefully described with reference to the drawings, in which- Figure 1 is aperspective view; Fig. 2, an end elevation of the upper portion; Fig. 3,a vertical transverse section of the upper portion with a roll of paperin position, and Fig. A is a detail.

In the drawings, A A are supporting-feet connected by a cross bar A andhaving mounted upon the .same upright standards A A A is a cross-barbolted or screwed to flanges at the top of the uprights and forming withthem and the feet and cross-bar a frame or holder to receive the roll ofpaper.

B is a spindle or core-rod which passes through the roll of paper and issupported in seats I) 1), formed in the inner sides of the uprights. Atthe opposite ends of the corerods are loose conical bushings B B, whichenter the holes in the roll of paper and hold -it properly centered onthe corerod. Outside these bushings are circular face-plates I B B whichcover the hole in the paper-roll and prevent it from moving endwiseagainst the uprights. At the inner ends of these conical bushings thereare formed on or attached to the core-rod slight projections b, whichlimit the inward movement of the bushings and prevent them from passingtoo far into the roll of paper, where they would do damage to the paper.

The paper-cutting devices are attached to the roll-holder and arecombined therewith,

but are applicable to any form of roll-holder which is provided withupright standards. These cutting devices are held upon peculiarly-shapedhanger-arms. These arms are each formed with a horizontal slottedportion C detachably secured by set-screws c to the sides of theuprights near the top. These arms are also formed with enlarged middleportions 0 and downwardly-inclined outer portions 0, which latter formguides upon which the cutter-bar slides. This cutter-bar consists of anupper bar D and a lower bar D, which are loosely secured together adistance apart just far enough to'form a slit or throat between them,through which passes the outer terminal edge of the roll of paper seenat?" in Fig. 8.

In the lower member D of the cutter-bar there is formed at each end atransverse,

channel d large enough to receive the outer inclined portions C of thehanger-arms, which hangerarms are formed with terminal knobs or stopprojections c on them to keep the cutter-bars from dropping off. Theupper member of the cutter-bar has longitudinal slots at its ends,through which screws or bolts 0 pass to clamp the two members of thecutter-bar together. The bars are loosely connected by these screws soas to slightly rock about their longitudinal aXes to facilitate thepassage of the paper'between, but

. may be rigidly connected. In such latter case suitable washers,offsets, or filling-pieces are interposed between the bars so that theydo not bind on the hanger-arm, but are held a sufficient distance apartto allow the paper to freely pass between them and allow the bars toslide on the hanger-arms. The front straight edge of the bottom bar (andthe top one also, if desired) is made sharp to establish a cutting-linein tearing ofi the paper.

Between the enlarged middle portions 0 of the hanger-arms there isloosely journaled a small roller E, over which the paper passes from theroll to the cutter-bar, and in front and slightly above this rollerthere is formed on the inner face of each enlarged middle part 0 of thearm an inclined rib or flange e, on which rests a gravitating rod F,which rod by reason of the inclined ribs e always trends down upon andtoward the roller E for tension purposes. This gravitating rod ispreferablyround, but may be any crosssection. It rides upon the top of:the sheet of paper and presses freely against the side of roller E, andwhen the paper is pulled from the roll said rod slightly rises on theinclined seats formed by the ribs or flanges c. This rod holds the paperstiff and unyielding while forcing up the cutter-bars over it.

G is a brake-spring made of bent'wire, the ends of which bear againstthe uprights and the middle portionagainst a plate B to arrest themomentum of the paper-roll when pulling off the paper. The two legs ofthe wire straddle the core-rod, as seen in Fig. 3.

The operation of my roll-holder and papercutter is as follows: To placethe roll of paper on the-core-rod, the latter is lifted out of its seatsI) in the uprights, and the conical bushing and end plate at one end areremoved. The roll is then slipped on the rod and the conical bushingadjusted into the central open ends of the roll, the end plate restored,and the ends of the core-rod are then dropped into the seats in theupright. The free edge of the paper is then pulled out and extended overthe roller E and under tension-rod F, and thence is passed down throughthe slitted throat between the adjustable cutterbars, where it normallyremains, as seen in Fig. 3. To tear off a piece of paper of the desiredlength, the thumb is placed above the upper cutter-bar and theforefinger under the lower cutter-bar. These bars are then forced upover their inclined guides, as in dotted lines, Fig. 3, which allows thefree terminal edge of the stationary paper to be received in the handbetween the forefinger and thumb and be grasped thereby. The paper beinggrasped is pulled down the requisite distance for the section to be tornoff, and with a sweep of the hand the paper is thrown against thecutting edge of the cutter-bar and is torn off straight along that line.

In describing more fully the function and value of the loose connectionsof the two sections D D of the cutter-bar I would state that the stopprojections c are formed with a hook-shaped cam edge 0 on the uppersurface of their lower sides, as seen in Fig. 4., against which thelower edge of the section D strikes when it descends and is forcedupwardly to and against the paper, which it tightly holds while thepaper is being torn off. When the cutter-bar is pushed up, as in Fig. 4,the bar-section D drops away from D, allowing the paper to freely passdown between them, but when the bars D D drop down again D rides on camc and pinches the paper against D, as seen in Fig. 3.

One advantage of my invention is that the cutter-bar gravitates of itsown weight to the outermost portion of the downwardlyinclined guide-armand is moved up with but littlcresistance, and thus needs no spring, asis required in my previously-patented construction. It is obvious,however, that a spring may be employed, as in my previous patents, toforce down the cutter-bar, if desired, as might be useful with a verylight cutter-bar.

The construction of the cutter devices is also such that they may beapplied to any form of roll-holder already in use. In such applicationit is only necessary to screw or bolt the hanger-arms C C C directly tothe sides of the uprights of any roll-holder, or to the top cross-barthereof; or these hangerarms may be fastened to the side wall of a storeor toilet room like a bracket, immediiiltely above the point of supportof a paperro If desired, two narrower rolls of paper may beindependently mounted on the same axial line, and both be cut by thesame cutter-bar.

I claim- 1. A paper-cutter for a paper-roll holder, comprising standardsarranged to support a roll of paper and two arms connected to thestandards above the roll, said arms having their free outer endsprojecting downwardly and outwardly and having stops on their ends, anda freely-sliding cutter-bar arranged on the arms to descend fromgravity, said cutter-bar having a space through which the free edge ofthe paper passes and being arranged to be slid upwardly on the arms toexpose said free edge of the paper.

2. A paper-cutter for a paper-roll holder, comprising hanger-armsbearing at their outer ends downwardly-inclined guides, a cutter-barsliding on said inclined guides, and a roller above the cutter-barsustained between the hanger-arms.

8. A paper-cutter for a paper-roll holder, comprising hanger-armsbearing at their outer ends downwardly-inclined guides, a cutter -barsliding on said inclined guides, a roller above the cutter-bar sustainedbetween the hanger-arms, and a paper-holding rod arranged to press thepaper against the roller.

4. A paper-cutter for a paper-roll holder, comprising hanger-arms havingnear their middle portions inclined seats and bearing at their outerends downwardly-inclined guides, a cutter-bar sliding on said inclinedguides, a roller journaled between the enlarged middle portion of thearms, and a tension-rod arranged in the inclined seats and gravitatingagainst the roller.

5. A paper-cutter for a paper-roll holder, comprising hanger-arms whoseouter ends bear downwardly-inclined guides, a cutterbar sliding on saidguides, and pinching devices for the paper arranged above the outter-barand sustained between the two hanger-arms.

6. A paper-cutter for a paper-roll holder, comprising hanger-arms havinga slot and set-screw at their inner ends for attachment to a support andhaving their outer ends formed with downwardly-inclined guides, a

cutter-bar sliding on said guides, and pinching devices for thepaper'arranged above the cutter-bar and sustained between thehanger-arms.

7. A paper-cutter for a paper-roll holder, comprising hanger-arms withdownwardlyinclined outer ends formed with stop projections, a cutter-barmade in two sections, one above and the other below the inclined ends ofthe hanger-arms, and means for connecting them together without bindingthe hanger-arms.

8. A paper-cutter for a paper-roll holder, comprising hanger-arms withdownwardlyinclined outer ends formed with stop projections, a cutter-barmade in two sections loosely connected together so as to turn slightlyabout longitudinal axes and sliding on the inclined outer ends of thehangerarms.

9'. A paper-cutter and roll-holder compinch the paper at the end'oftheir downward movement.

v JOHN F. FINAN.

Witnesses: l A. D. DOWDEN, WM. KELLEY.

